Everest Elevates

Prepare for a 60-minute strategic climb above the everyday noise of business. Gary Mark Lesley will equip you with an actionable framework for leading with clarity and resilience. The journey begins by mastering a foundational mindset: accepting that "Everything Changes," and that our power lies in our principled response.
You will be introduced to two transformative, proprietary concepts. First, The Sherpa’s Bend—a specific, trust-based skill for joining strengths, forged from Gary's anthropological work in Nepal. This is more than a teamwork metaphor employing the double figure-eight knot; it's a practical method for creating collective resilience and capability far greater than the sum of its parts. Second, Linguistic Leverage—a powerful tool for consciously using language to shape reality, build trust, and inspire decisive action.
The session is structured as an interactive base camp. You will explore how to foster radical honesty within your team, transform decision-making from command to collaborative council, and build a covenant of implementation where trust is the currency. Expect to leave with a clearer personal leadership path, a practical methodology for navigating critical junctures, and the first steps toward building a culture where principles are the trusted paths to any summit.

Gary Mark Lesley is a guide for the modern professional landscape, dedicated to making people safer and enabling growth. Along with college of business work at his alma mater; MN State University – Mankato, Gary’s diverse 30-year entrepreneurial career is the foundation of his powerful message. He first led Head Lites Corp, a start-up focused on roadside safety, instilling a deep commitment to protecting and empowering others. This mission has been his through-line, extending through roles as a multi-patented inventor for law enforcement and U.S. Military, an aviation executive, and a bio-tech leader pioneering advanced performance materials.
Now, he brings this wealth of experience to the speaking stage, synthesizing it into the accessible, powerful mantra: Changes, Choices & Principles. Gary believes that while change is constant, our power lies in mastering our response through choices grounded in universal principles. His approach is enriched by a profound connection to the Himalayas, symbolized by his foundation's work building a sustainable, solar geodesic growing dome for the Sir Edmund Hillary School in Nepal, just miles from Everest. (Proceeds from the Everest Elevates Program and related book sales go to support the Growingdome in the Clouds Foundation (501.(c) 3))
From this connection comes the core metaphor of his teaching: The Sherpa’s Bend. Drawn from firsthand experience, it represents the critical, trust-based knot that secures a team together on a treacherous slope. It is a philosophy of reciprocal strength and resilience that he translates directly to organizational dynamics. Gary combines this with the concept of Linguistic Leverage, teaching leaders to wield language consciously to shape perception and drive outcomes.
His "Base Camp Program" is a structured 60-minute journey. It guides participants through accepting the reality of change, making choices through reciprocity and dialogue, and executing through a covenant of principle-based trust. More than a speaker, Gary is a practitioner and educator—a former flight instructor and adjunct professor whose passion is sharing hard-won insights. He offers organizations not just inspiration, but the first practical step toward navigating their own paths to the summit, proving that the ultimate leverage point for growth lies in mastering the human dynamics of any ascent.

(Proceeds from the Everest Elevates Program and related book sales go to support the Growingdome in the Clouds Foundation (501.(c) 3))